Clearance to combustibles
Clearance to combustibles is the minimum distance a stove and its pipe must keep from anything that can burn — walls, furniture, framing. Each listed stove specifies its own tested clearances; unlisted installations fall back to NFPA 211's default of 36 inches for a radiant stove.
Wood ignites at surprisingly low temperatures after long, repeated heating (pyrolysis lowers the ignition point over years), which is why clearances are non-negotiable and why "it's never gotten that hot" is not evidence of safety.
Manufacturer-listed clearances — often much less than 36 inches thanks to heat shields and convection jackets — are part of the stove's safety listing and appear in the installation manual. Approved wall protectors can reduce clearances further by defined fractions; local code and the manual always govern.